ITV faces fine after Central News East 'emergency'

Obviously not, if I did, I wouldn't have asked the question and made myself look a fool would I? Beleive it or not, some questions are asked out of genuine ignorance, rather than a desire you piss you guys off.


I am fully aware of that, which is why I was surprised by that report. It implied there was a full team of staff, but they couldn't continue because there was no directior. The point I was trying (badly) to make was that there should have been someone else up to the job. It appears there was, and they wanted paying , which is fair, so I now understand.

Thanks for your explanation, it was very interesting, and I'm sorry the question seemed so offensive to you.

Didn't mean to sound spiky - but there is often an assumption in some quarters that jobs that can take years of training and experience to perform effectively can be covered by others with no experience and little training in emergencies.

Sure there are some PAs and Vision Mixers who can probably, at a pinch, cover the director's role. In some areas people currently employed as PAs and Vision Mixers may have previously had the opportunity to "act up" as directors.

However I read your original post as kind of suggesting that other team members could muck in and cope... This is most definitely not always the case.

It does sound as if Central were very silly not to pay their employee extra for "acting up" to director - if I'd been asked I think I would have refused as well.

This is from Broadcast's diary column:
The news that Central's East Midlands news service pre- recorded a news bulletin after the show lost its director has gone down like a lead balloon with politicians and Ofcom by the looks of it. But it is the latest in inauspicious incidents since the team were moved out of their Lenton Lane base to their new out of town site in Chilwell. First they were welcomed to the area with a brick through the window, then, according to staff, they were told by project managers they couldn't have money to buy TVs for the office - a cash ban that has now been lifted. Added to this, presenters are apparently spending chunks of their afternoon driving between Nottingham and Birmingham, with the East Midlands service now presented from the second city. That's efficiency savings.

I live having Abingdon centre down the road from me. I can't remeber much but I know sure that Abingdon items are very brand new.

A cooltempest classic

I've never been to Nottingham. Would I be correct in assuming Chilwell is in a 'dodgy area' ?

In a word - "yes"

So, it was a really sensible area for ITVplc to choose to bulid the newsgathering centre then?